Chronic urticaria is now considered as an autoimmune disorder due to histamine-releasing autoantibodies in 40-50% of cases. These histamine releasing-autoantibodies directed against the high affinity IgE receptor or against IgE can be detected in vivo by autologous serum skin test (ASST) or in vitro by a functional assay employing basophils. ASST positivity has been found also in patients with ...

Background Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients demonstrate functional autoantibodies against high affinity receptors of IgE (FcerI). Autologous serum skin test(ASST)is mostly used in chronic spontaneous urticaria to show its autoreactivity. ASST positive patients represent a severe group which can be benefited from autoserum therapy (AST). So, aim of our study is to evaluate the effica...

I Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is the most frequent form of urticaria, accounting for 70-80% of the cases (1). CIU is defined as a 6-week or longer history of urticaria in the absence of detectable physical, allergic, vasculitic, infectious or drug-induced causes (2). The presence of autoantibodies directed toward IgE or to the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor, detected by intradermal test w...